The much-watched Nothing Phone (1) was recently launched in some countries. The smartphone features a transparent glass back design with a unique “Glyph interface” on the back with LED lights that users can customize to their liking.
Other specs of Nothing Phone (1) include a 120Hz refresh rate display, Snapdragon 778G+ SoC, and a 45,000mAh battery. It’s worth noting, however, that the company Nothing skipped the FCC certification process for the Nothing phone. What does this mean for users?
What is FCC certification?
FCC is the acronym for Federal Communications Commission. The organization that affixes the FCC logo to electronic products, the Federal Communications Commission is an independent government agency in the United States that regulates radio, television, cable, satellite and cable communications.
Why do devices need FCC certification?
The FCC logo is similar to how the BIS label for Indian electronics works. The FCC mark for electronic products is a certification that all electronic products produced or sold in the United States must pass through, otherwise, manufacturers are not allowed to sell their electronic products on the market. FCC certification specifically focuses on the RF (radio frequency) aspects of electronic products.
Why did Nothing Phone (1) get FCC certification?
Now let’s look at the specifics of why Nothing Phone (1) skipped FCC certification. It appears that Nothing’s problems have more to do with carrier issues in the US than regulatory compliance. A report from PCMag says that Nothing has decided to skip the launch in the US and Canada for now. A statement sent to PCMag goes further.
“While we would love to bring the Phone(1) to people around the world, we are focusing on domestic markets, including the UK and Europe, where we have strong partnerships with leading local operators. As you know “It takes a lot of things to launch a smartphone, from making sure the phone is backed by the country’s cellular technology, to operator cooperation and local regulation, and since we’re still a young brand, we need to be strategic.”
PCMag speculates that Nothing’s inability to strike deals with U.S. carriers may be why Nothing doesn’t sell smartphones in the U.S., thus skipping FCC certification. Unlike the rest of the world where users buy their smartphones through independent local retailers, the situation is a little different in the US, where 90% of smartphones are sold through carrier channels, according to a Mashable report. So deals with telcos are very important for Nothing if it wants to tap into the huge customer base of U.S. carriers.
Also, according to analyst Avi Greengart, the carrier certification process for smartphones in the U.S. is expensive, and apparently, OEMs have to shell out as much as $1 million per phone, per carrier, and smartphones must be Certified by carriers for compatibility with the frequency bands and technology combinations used by US Telecom. So, for Nothing, there’s a potential cost involved because the company is relatively young in the market.
But the company has said it still plans to launch the smartphone in the U.S., asking that “if readers really want Nothing Phone (1) to be available in the U.S. soon, they should call their carrier and let them know about us.”
Can Nothing Phone (1) be used without FCC certification?
Yes, the Nothing Phone (1) is absolutely safe to use even without the FCC marking, as the Nothing Phone (1) is still a BIS compliant device which ensures that the device has no quality or safety issues.
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